2023 Fisker Ocean One Awd on 2040-cars

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Destino's VL Automotive merges with GreenTech Automotive

Here's a twist to the Fisker/Destino/MyCar stories we didn't see coming. WM Greentech (WMGTA), the company behind the struggling-but-not-dead-yet MyCar, has merged with VL Automotive, the company that plans to take bodies from the Fisker Karma and repurpose them with a V8 engine. That car will now be part of GTA's new WM Destino brand. That latter idea comes, in part, from former Chevy Volt booster Bob Lutz, who founded VL Automotive with Gilbert Villarreal, an automotive engineer and industrialist. Vilarreal will now become chief operating officer of WMGTA. In a statement, available below, Vilarreal said the merger will let WMGTA get busy making the Destino luxury and that, "I truly believe in the production of the GTA MyCar as a practical, electric transportation solution and an affordable fleet vehicle." The Destino, of course, is neither electric nor affordable. It is expected to cost around $180,000. WMGTA thus has two brands. The GTA division will make practical little EVs like the MyCar. The WM division, on the other hand, "manufactures and distributes energy-efficient super sports cars with internal combustion engine." Now tell us, did you see that coming? WM GREENTECH AUTOMOTIVE CORP. MERGES WITH LUXURY SPORTS CAR MANUFACTURER VL AUTOMOTIVE McLean, Virginia – May 5, 2014 - GreenTech Automotive Corp (GTA), a Virginia-based wholly owned subsidiary of WM GreenTech Automotive Corp. (WMGTA), today announced the recent merger of VL Automotive, an innovative luxury sports car manufacturing company based in Detroit, Michigan. VL Automotive will merge with GTA, a wholly owned subsidiary of WMGTA, which also has a wholly owned subsidiary that produces electric vehicles. After the merger, WMGTA now has its global engineering headquarters in Detroit, Michigan, manufacturing in Tunica, Mississippi, and U.S. corporate headquarters in McLean, Virginia. VL Automotive was founded by Robert A. Lutz, former Chairman of General Motors, and Gilbert Villarreal, automotive engineer and industrialist. Villarreal will join GTA's executive team as its Chief Operating Officer. Before joining GTA, Villarreal served in various engineering leadership positions at the United States Marine Corps, the Boeing Company and General Motors. "This merger will enable WMGTA to ramp up production of the Destino luxury sports sedan while strengthening its electric vehicle division. WMGTA has proven its practical business strategy and sensible approach to product development.

Almost $1 billion in claims filed against bankrupt Fisker

You may have scoffed when the US Department of Energy sold the rights to its $168 million outstanding Fisker Automotive loan to Hybrid Tech Holdings last December for just $25 million, or about 15 cents on the dollar. It turns out that might be the going rate for anyone with claims against the bankrupt extended-range plug-in maker, though. That's because Fisker, which declared bankruptcy in November, has generated $985.4 million in claims from 618 not-so-happy parties, Delaware Online says, citing a bankruptcy filing from last week. Fisker stopped making its sporty but troubled Karma in mid-2012. Wanxiang America won an auction for Fisker's assets, including its Delaware factory, for $149.2 million. That leaves $836 million, or about 85 percent of the collective value of the claims against the company. Naturally, Hybrid Tech Holdings, which was beaten out by Wanxiang in the bidding for the assets, has jumped in line to see if it can make good on what was formerly that DOE loan. The state of Delaware, where Fisker had acquired an old General Motors factory, is seeking $20 million stemming from some incentives it provided up front. And Finland's Valmet Automotive wants $8.5 million for its work with the company. Former Fisker employees say the company is on the hook for another $6 million, and none other than General Motors itself is claiming it is owed the same amount. Then there is the lawsuit we first heard about in December that was filed against Fisker and some of its executives who were collecting hefty paychecks while no cars were being produced. Add it all up and you get almost a billion dollars. Good times.

Fisker officially goes public, on track for 2022 production

Fisker has officially gone public, trading on the New York Stock Exchange under "FSR" as of Friday, the company announced this week. It was taken public as part of a merger/acquisition by Spartan Energy Acquisition Corp. "All the external pieces are now in place to execute our unique, asset-light business strategy, with today’s funding and the strategic cooperation announced with Magna on Oct. 15," said Fisker Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Henrik Fisker, in the company's announcement. "We can now fully turn our attention to developing and launching the revolutionary, all-electric Fisker Ocean into the heart of the midsize SUV market, expected to commence in Q4 2022. We appreciate the confidence from all our shareholders and intend to deliver on our stated goals." Fisker announced last week that auto supplier Magna will provide the vehicle platform and build the electric carmaker's Ocean SUV. As part of the deal, Magna will receive warrants to purchase a stake of up to 6% in Fisker, giving the EV maker an overall valuation of about $3 billion, Fisker Chief Executive Henrik Fisker told Reuters. "As a result of the completion of the transaction, Fisker expects to have in excess of $1.0 billion (net of transaction fees and expenses) of cash on the balance sheet and no funded debt. This amount is expected to fully fund Fisker operations and the development of the Fisker Ocean program through the planned start of production in Q4 2022." Fisker, which is merging with Spartan Energy Acquisition Corp, said it had finalized a deal with Canada's Magna to build the Ocean in Europe, marking the Canadian supplier's first entry into contract manufacturing for an EV startup. While Magna has built vehicles for traditional automakers for years, analysts and investors have speculated it could eventually build for technology companies like Apple. Fisker stock was up more than 10% in its first day of trading (as of publication time). This article contains reporting by Reuters. Related Video: